Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Consultants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department has spent on consultancy fees in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022; and what the name is of each consultancy contracted.

Amanda Milling: FCDO consultancy spend in financial years 2021-22 and 2020-21 was £5.7 million and £2.7 million respectively. Total FCO plus DFID spend for 2019-20 was £3 million.More detailed information can be found on a contract by contract basis at https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder Contracts Finder records details of contracts worth over £10,000 with the government and its agencies.

Department of Health and Social Care

Medicine: Research

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what further steps he is taking to (a) increase the participation of patients within clinical trials, (b) integrate clinical research within health and social care practice and (c) further embed clinical research within the NHS.

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what further steps he is taking to (a) reduce approval times for clinical trials and (b) enable innovative research to be carried out more quickly; and what discussions he has had for the purposes of informing policy and practice with representatives of (i) the National Health Systems of the UK, (ii) the Devolved administrations, (iii) academia, (iv) medical royal colleges, (v) patient advocacy groups, (vi) research institutes and (vii) health care professional bodies.

James Morris: ‘The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery’ published in March 2021 set out the ambition to create a patient-centred, pro-innovation and digitally enabled clinical research environment. ‘The Future of Clinical Research Delivery: 2022 to 2025 implementation plan’ published on 30 June 2022 summarises the progress made and the actions required in the next three years to achieve these ambitions by 2031.The National Health Service and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) are investing in data and digital platforms to increase the identification of people who meet the eligibility criteria for specific studies and to deliver virtual and decentralised studies to increase participation of patients within clinical trials. NHS England and the devolved administrations are developing plans to embed responsibility and accountability for research in healthcare delivery and introduce new measures to increase recognition for undertaking and supporting clinical research. This will include the implementation of the Health and Care Act 2022 with enhanced duties on research for NHS England and integrated care boards. A single, simplified approval service for clinical trials in the United Kingdom will be developed, including the implementation of a fast-track ethics review in the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) and the Health Research Authority’s combined process. NHS England is implementing the National Contract Value Review to expedite the costing elements of the contracting process in NHS trusts to prevent delays. Following public consultation on proposals for legislative changes for clinical research, the MHRA is preparing the Government’s response and secondary legislation. The NIHR is expanding its support through its Clinical Research Network to assist researchers with the design of studies.These measures will be delivered through the Recovery, Resilience and Growth Programme involving representatives from NHS, the devolved administrations, academia, Royal Colleges, patients and the public, research institutes, health care professional bodies and research charities, funders and industry.

General Practitioners: Labour Turnover

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of GP retention programmes in retaining GPs (a) in Bradford, (b) in Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) nationally.

James Morris: A number of retention programmes operate in West Yorkshire and Bradford.  These are overseen, monitored and assessed for effectiveness by NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB). The number of general practitioners (GPs) and primary care teams accessing retention programmes is regularly reviewed and assessed through engagement with participants. NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB and NHS South Yorkshire ICB also assess the effectiveness of retention schemes though workforce boards. In England, we are working with the National Health Service and the profession on the implementation of and feedback received on the GP retention schemes, which will be used to evaluate effectiveness and determine potential further opportunities.

Health: Females

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what impact Integrated Care Systems will have on improving women’s health.

Maria Caulfield: Integrated care systems (ICSs) will strengthen partnerships between the National Health Service, local authorities and partners. The recently published Women’s Health Strategy for England recommends that ICSs take the Strategy’s ambitions and actions into account when developing local strategies and plans.Integrated care boards (ICBs) must have regard to the need to reduce inequalities in access and outcomes of health services, including the quality of experience of patients. This will address health disparities between men and women and between groups of women. In five year plans, ICBs must set out proposals to address the particular needs of victims of abuse, including domestic and sexual abuse.

Mental Health Services: Out of Area Treatment

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact on patients of being admitted to inappropriate out of area placements as a result of no appropriate mental health services being available locally.

Gillian Keegan: On average, hospital admissions out of area result in a longer length of stay than for local admissions. Evidence shows that being treated out of areas can impact the continuity of care of patients, with disruptions to their care and reduced contact with family, carers and support networks, all of which are critical to recovery.We continue to work with NHS England to monitor the use of such placements. All systems which have inappropriate out of area placements are required to refresh local plans to ensure these are eliminated as soon as reasonably possible.